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Do-It-Yourself Traffic Control for Special Events

BY: Christina Hansen

Large parties, fundraisers and festivals take a lot of planning, and it doesn’t end when you’ve lined up the food service, decorations and entertainment. Special events call for special traffic control, whether you need to reconfigure an existing parking area, or transform a section of your property into a short-term parking lot.

Hiring valets, flaggers or parking attendants can greatly help to keep vehicles (and pedestrians) moving smoothly and in the right direction, but sometimes a little structural help can come in handy, too. Delineating the boundaries and directional flow of parking spaces, aisles and walkways keeps confusion and stress levels to a minimum, and can help your guests to both start and end the event on a high note.

Here are a few simple ways to ensure successful traffic and pedestrian flow at your special event:

Direct Vehicle FlowInstead of leaving drivers to randomly steer and park their vehicles throughout a congested parking area, use delineators to direct traffic flow into specific aisles, so that one row of parking spots is neatly filled before another opens up. An orderly parking process not only makes it easier for guests to remember where they left their cars, but also makes it easier for pedestrians to walk between the parking lot and event without constantly dodging vehicles.

Delineating poles are also useful for separating “front row” areas reserved for catering vans, deliveries, photographers and VIP vehicles from general parking areas, so that impatient guests don’t swoop into parking spots that are reserved for those who require the most up-front, convenient access to the venue.

Create Designated Parking SpacesOne of the best ways to maximize parking at your special event is to designate individual parking spaces, instead of just allowing guests to overestimate how much space their vehicles need. Temporary parking spaces can be easily laid out with the help of portable polyurethane parking stops, which lay across the head of each spot like their permanent concrete counterparts do, but can be picked up, moved and stored whenever necessary.

Even if designating an entire lot’s worth of parking spots isn’t feasible, consider using just a few parking stops to denote reserved spots for disabled individuals in need of Accessible spaces, or VIPs and guests of honor. To make it extra clear who the spaces are reserved for, the parking blocks can be easily spray-paint stenciled with names or emblems.

Control SpeedThere’s nothing more dangerous to pedestrians than speeding vehicles, so take control of parking lot speeds at your special event with portable, molded-polyurethane speed bumps. Just like portable parking stops, these temporary-to-permanent speed bumps can be installed wherever you need them, and either left in place or removed when the event is over. They’re even capable of being anchored into the ground, so that they don’t shift upon vehicle contact.

A secondary benefit to portable speed bumps is that some of them can double as cable and hose protectors, thanks to built-in channels that run end to end. In the event that you need to run power cords, hoses or air lines across the path of vehicle traffic, just cover them up with speed bump cord protectors, and anchor into place. Cars, trucks and golf carts can then drive safely over, without crushing or causing damage to the cables beneath.

Define Pedestrian Walkways It’s not a special event without people, and bustling crowds of attendees can cause traffic of another kind: pedestrian. The best way to channel your guests in the right direction and keep them from trampling over every inch of lawns and landscaping is create defined pedestrian walkways with the help of bollard posts and cording.

Despite the fact that bollard posts are most often made of plain metal or treated lumber, they don’t need to drag down your event’s décor. Simply cover existing bollards with lightweight decorative post sleeves, which are styled to look like high-end cast iron, but are actually made of a chemical, weather and UV-resistant polymer. Just slip the sleeves over your posts, connect them with the included chains, and your crowd control is instantly transformed from run-of-the-mill to sleekly sophisticated.